Immigration Arrests Increase In Montana

Arrests of people suspected of living in the U.S. illegally have increased 24 percent in a four-state region since President Donald Trump entered office, mirroring a national trend.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports numbers released last week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement show increasing arrests and deportations by the agency’s Salt Lake City field office, which covers Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Utah.

The report shows the Enforcement and Removal Operations office arrested 5,754 people during the 2018 fiscal year, up from 4,638 arrests in 2016. It deported 3,408 people, nearly double the 1,731 recorded in 2016 before Trump took office.

ICE arrested 158,851 people across the country this year, a 44-percent increase from the 110,104 arrests in 2016. The agency deported 256,085 immigrants, increasing by 6.5 percent in 2016.